Anthony
Fokker made a fortune by building outstanding fighter
planes for Germany during first World War. Once it was over, the flamboyant Dutch aircraft
manufacturer turned his talents to commercial aircraft. He concentrated on single-engine
airliners, the most famous of which, the Fokker F-VII, was the dominant
European airliner of its time.
In 1925, Henry Ford organized
his first annual Ford Reliability Tour for airplanes. It was a contest
to determine which planes could best withstand the heavy demands of
commercial flying. It included 1,900
miles of flying and landings in 13 Midwestern cities.
Fokker ordered his factory to add an
additional engine under each wing of the F-VII and to ship the plane to
America to compete for the Ford Trophy. It was the first three-engine airliner in
the United States. Competition was heavy. American manufacturers
entered their best planes, sixteen of them. Fokker was not
discouraged. During most of the competition, he flew the plane
himself. He won the competition by a wide margin. Returning
to Amsterdam, he immediately ordered his three-engine
transport into production. Thus was born the Fokker F-VII
Tri-motor.
It was probably the world's most popular airliner
during the
1920s. This dependable aircraft was to make aviation history many times.
Fokker's F-VII probably had more "firsts" to
its credit than any other aircraft--before or since. For example, in
1926 an F-VII named the Josephine Ford carried Richard Byrd and
Floyd Bennett over the North Pole. In 1928 Britain's Sir Charles
Kingsford-Smith spanned the Pacific Ocean from Oakland, California
to Brisbane, Australia in his Southern Cross . And as a
passenger in the Fokker Friendship, Amelia Earhart became the
first woman to fly the Atlantic Ocean.
Meanwhile, Henry Ford was also impressed and in
1928, the Ford Motor Company introduced it'sFord
Trimotor Airplane.